The mapinguari (or mapinguary) (IPA: /mapiŋgwa'ri/) is a legendary ground-dwelling sloth-like creature with red fur living in the Amazon rainforests of Brazil and Bolivia.

According to some native accounts the creature has a series of unnatural characteristics related to other fantastic beings of Brazilian mythology, like long claws, caiman skin, backward feet and a second mouth on its belly. These characteristics are not shared by all accounts of the creature.

According to legend, it is slow but ferocious and very dangerous due to its ability to move without noise in between the thick vegetation, its only weakness being that of avoiding water bodies (which limits its movements in a region where so many rivers, brooklets and lagoons exist, especially during the rainy season). Most accounts state that the creature is carnivorous -- though not necessarily man-eating. When it smells the presence of humans it stands up on its back feet, becoming as tall as two metres, a movement similar to Grizzly bears.

According to local legends, the Mapinguari, a large, nocturnal, red-haired monster with a disorienting stench, roams the Amazon jungle of Brazil. Locals describe the Mapinguari as standing about two meters tall when on its hind legs. Interestingly, its feet are turned backwards and it is reportedly capable of ripping apart palm trees with its large claws. Although most scientists dismiss the Mapinguari as myth, a few, among them ornithologist David Oren, believe the Mapinguari may actually exist. They theorize that it may be a surviving giant ground sloth similar to the Mylodon, generally thought to have gone extinct about ten thousand years ago. It would not be entirely unprecedented to discover a living specimen of a species thought to be extinct for such a long period. In 1972, Dr. Ralph Wetzel discovered living specimens of the Chacoan Peccary, a close relative of pigs and boars, while on an expedition to the Gran Chaco. Prior to his discovery, the only example of this type of peccary had come from fossil remains, and they were generally considered to have died out about ten thousand years ago.

Cryptozoology

Many cryptozoologists are intrigued by reports of this creature, though some have dismissed it as a folkloric/mythologic creature, or a long-preserved folk memory of the giant animals that existed in South America in the Pleistocene, in particular the giant ground sloth Mylodon.

Among the many researchers who have tried to find evidence for the existence of the Mapinguari is the ornithologist David Oren. During his various expeditions, he has collected a range of material some of which was later shown to be agouti fur, anteater feces, and casts of tracks that were inconclusive. Nevertheless, Oren still considers the creature to be real, but highly elusive, and nowadays extremely rare, avoiding contact with humans whenever possible.

Mapinguari is a possibly-rejected explanation of what the monster really is. This page is one of the easter eggs in oceanic-air.com, a site operated by ABC rather than Lost's creative authorities. Therefore the canonicity of this website's contents are disputed by fans.

The Mapinguari is a giant ground sloth-like creature of folk legend, similar to the Loch Ness Monster, Bigfoot or Chupacabra, and is reputed to live in the Amazon jungle of South America. However, the Mapinguari is normally not associated with Australia.